5pm: Full wrap imminent
Stick around for all the details of Ronny Kaiser’s remarkable triumph. The full wrap is imminent.
4.35pm: It’s all over: Grzegorz Cichocki out in second, earning €180,000
Ronny Kaiser champion of EPT Tallinn, winning €275,000
The one way traffic has eventually reached its destination. After two days trying, Ronny Kaiser has finally stacked Grzegorz Cichocki in a final that lasted little more than four and a half hours. Ronny Kaiser is the champion of EPT Tallinn, at the age of 21.
The final hand played out like this: Cichocki made it 60,000 from the button and Kaiser three bet to 165,000 from the big blind. There was nothing at all unusual about that.
Cichocki, however, three bet shoved all in for his last 250,000-odd and Kaiser didn’t think long before saying, “OK, I call.”
Kaiser showed A♣ 9♠ and was already way ahead of Cichocki’s 8♦ 6♦ . The flop put him even further in front when it came A♥ K♠ 5♦ . “Zwei runners,” intoned the German-speaking rail, but not even ein runner was forthcoming. The 10♠ turn left Cichocki drawing dead, and the 9♦ finished it off.
Laura Cornelius talks to the EPTs newest champion, Ronny Kaiser…
4.29pm: Three hands batter Cichocki
Gregorz Cichocki is getting crushed by the Ronny Kaiser steamroller at the moment and is down to 1,600,000 conceding a huge deficit to Kaiser.
Hand one: Kaiser c-bets a J♣ 6♠ Q♠ flop for 80,000. Call. The 10♦ turn is checked and Kaiser calls a 150,000 lead into the 3♣ river. Cichocki shows J♥ 9♥ but Kaiser takes the pot with Q♦ 8♦ . Down to 2,400,000
Hand two: Kaiser three-bets from the big blind and takes the pot pre-flop.
Hand three: Kaiser opens the button and is called. Another 80,000 c-bet is called on the flop, which reads 10♠ K♦ 2♥ .
Kaiser bets 160,000 on the 8♥ turn. Cichocki calls and does so again when Kaiser blasts 575,000 on the 6♠ river. Kaiser shows A♦ A♠ . A frustrated Cichocki flashes a black king. The Pole is down to around 1,600,000. He’s up against the ropes here. — RD
4.20pm: Kaiser beginning to krush
After an extended period of what can only be described as faffing around — raises of 75,000 from the button, called in the big blind, folded after a bet on the flop — Ronny Kaiser has just taken a potentially decisive lead in this heads up duel.
Grzegorz Cichocki raised to 75,000 from the button and Kaiser called. So much, so typical. They went to a flop of 2♦ 8♠ K♣ , which Kaiser checked. Cichocki bet 85,000 and Kaiser found the check-raise, making it 175,000.
Cichocki wasn’t convinced and three-bet to 360,000. Kaiser called.
The A♦ turned and Kaiser checked. Cichocki bet 460,000 at that, but again Kaiser called. The A♣ rivered and Kaiser checked again. Cichocki checked behind.
Kaiser indicated that Cichocki was first to show, as the last aggressor, but Cichocki opted to muck instead. Kaiser showed a bare three to his appreciative rail and took it down. — HS
4.10pm: Cichocki forcing Kaiser back
Gregorz Cichocki is making some inroads into Ronny Kaiser’s chip lead here. A small pot was taken by the pole with bottom pair before the following hand played out.
Cichocki limped the button and Kaiser raised to 90,000. Call. Kaiser fired 105,000 into the K♥ 6♣ 3♥ flop and was called for a second time. A larger 180,000 was bet by Kaiser at the 7♠ turn and was raised to 500,000 by Cichocki. Kaiser passed. He’s still ahead but by less. Chip counts are roughly 4,000,000 to Cichocki and 4,400,000 to Kaiser. — RD
3.57pm: First points to Cichocki
Gregorz Cichocki has won the first two hands of this heads up, but neither have been substantial.
The first was a 75,000 open from Ronny Kaiser on the button, which was called, as was his 60,000 c-bet into a 3♣ 4♥ A♠ flop. The A♥ turn was checked. Cichocki led 130,000 into the 6♥ river and took the pot.
The second hand was a raise and take by the Pole who is now up to 3,700,000. Kaiser still ahead with 4,750,000. — RD
3.47pm: Heads up chip counts
Here they are:
Ronny Kaiser: 4,912,000
Grzegorz Cichocki: 3,537,000
There has never been either a Swiss or a Polish winner of the EPT, so national hero status awaits one of these two. — HS
3.45pm: Estonian hopes fade as final goes heads-up
Almost without pause we’re heads-up in the EPT Tallinn main event after Grzegorz Cichocki eliminated local hero Raigo Aasmaa, the first Estonian to reach a final table, in third place.
After Cichocki called in the small blind Aasmaa moved all in from the big blind which Cichocki called immediately. It was soon clear why as he turned over A♥ A♦ while Aasmaa flipped up K♥ 10♥ .
A huge crowd had by now surrounded the table. The players shook hads ahead of the flop.
5♦ Q♦ 9♦ 7♦ 4♠
It was over on the turn when Cichocki made the flush. Aasmaa departed to huge applause looking like a man who was quite pleased to have won €110,000.
We’re heads-up in the main event with the clock stopped. Cichocki hasn’t said a word all day. Kaiser is conferring with his friends on the rail. Play resumes shortly. – SB
3.40pm: Second time lucky for Kaiser: Jani Sointula out in fourth, earning €80,000
“Here we go again,” said Jani Sointula as he moved all in pre-flop from the big blind, over Ronny Kaiser’s raise to 145,000. Kaiser didn’t take long to call this time, and they were racing for Sointula’s tournament life.
Sointula: A♠ K♦
Kaiser: 7♥ 7♣
This time, it was Sointula who needed to catch, but he didn’t. The board ran 9♥ 8♠ 6♦ 4♠ 8♥ and Sointula was toast.
The Finn shook every hand around the table and didn’t wait to see his 900,000-odd slid to Kaiser. We’re down to three. — HS
3.38pm: Sointula shoves and doubles
Jani Sointula is not the kind of man to blind out and has been all-in the last two hands. The first was an open shove that picked up the blinds to pump him up to 456,000, the second was a three-bet all-in over the 60,000 open raise from Ronny Kaiser.
“Count,” said Kaiser pointing at Sointula’s stack.
The Swiss obviously had a decision on his hands: “You’re so good at pre-flop all-ins,” said Kaiser.
Sointula smiled, acknowledging the fact that he’d out flopped hard in a couple of big pots this tournament.
“Okay,” said Kaiser thumping down a stack of orange chips.
Kaiser: K♥ J♠
Sointula: A♥ 4♥
Sointula advantage held all the way to the river of the 4♣ Q♣ 6♣ 6♠ 8♥ to double to 950,000. — RD
3.30pm: From the tournament floor
With Ronny Kaiser…
3.20pm: Back to it
Four remain heading into level 25, where blinds are 15,000-30,000 with a 4,000 ante.
The counts for the remaining players are as follows:
Ronny Kaiser – 4,750,000
Grzegorz Cichocki – 2,786,000
Raigo Aasmaa – 641,000
Jani Sointula – 427,000
When I grow up, I want to be Ronny Kaiser. — HS
Reporting team in Tallinn: Stephen Bartley, Marc Convey, Rick Dacey, Howard Swains.
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